By Anthony Breznican, USA Today; Contributing: Scott Bowles; May 12, 2005
A long time ago (three years), in a galaxy far, far from Hollywood (northern Virginia), a graphic designer named Shane
Felux set out to make his own Star Wars movie.
And Felux, a cross between Han Solo and Don Quixote, did it for the cost of an average Honda Accord.
Fan films had been done before, usually only a few minutes long and with a jokey premise. The online site AtomFilms is
full of them, and Lucasfilm hosts a contest every year to honor the best. The most famous short, Troops, was a parody of
the TV crime show Cops, featuring Stormtroopers responding to routine crimes.
But Felux, 33, wanted to create a serious 40-minute adventure film, complete with space-craft chases, lightsaber duels,
extraterrestrial cityscapes, treasure-seeking Jedi and a rivalry-obsessed Darth Vader.
He spent about $20,000 which is about the same amount Kevin Smith used to make Clerks 10 years ago. And that movie
didn’t need an exploding star destroyer.
Felux spent a quarter of his budget on a digital camera, another big chunk on computer equipment, and most the rest on
food for his cast and crew. Felux and his wife, Dawn Cowing, cooked the food.
Buying the camera prompted his wife, a stay-at-home mom with a degree in creative writing, to get to work on the
screenplay.
“I used it to back her into a corner,” he jokes. “It was, ‘No more talk. Now we’re doing it.’”
Their mom-and-pop film, Star Wars: Revelations, has become an Internet phenomenon. It has had nearly 1 million free
downloads since it premiered last month on Felux’s website, www.PanicStruckPro.com
George Lucas says he hasn’t seen Revelations or many of the other fan-made films, but he still considers himself a fan
of their work.
“I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I haven’t seen them,” he says. “But I’m pleased that Star Wars inspires anyone to do
something like that. I appreciate that kind of devotion.”
Other Star Wars sites offering the movie have been swamped. A disclaimer on TheForce.net reported that demand for
Revelations “has blown out our bandwidth.”
“It’s been a big one,” says Jeff yankey, 32, who oversees the nearly 100 fan films posted at TheForce. “Most people
realize that this is incredible for how he brought everyone together. He’s not a filmmaker by trade, so I was surprised he
did so well on his first try. Usually, it takes a few times to get used to it.”
As admirers await the release of Lucas’ final prequel, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, on May 19, Revelations has
become a kind of Star Wars appetizer.
Felux says he couldn’t have made the movie without recruiting like-minded fans from around the world.
His lead actors traveled from New Jersey to shoot some scenes on weekends. Some computer animators, who worked for
lawyers doing recreations of car accidents, had experience making computerized special effect. A musical student in England
wrote and performed the musical score. Others just wanted to dress up like Stormtroopers.
Often a simple “please” was the only Jedi mind trick that Felux needed to get his shot. He talked a mining company into
letting him film in its quarry. A museum let him use an exhibit room for a party sequence, and a rental company loaned him
a 30-foot crane in exchange for free website design.
The catch is that Felux and Cowings can’t profit from the movie. Lucasfilm encourages fan films, but the makers are not
allowed to sell them. They can, however, give the shorts away for free.
Felux would like to make another movie, but he doesn’t want to serve as director, actor, and caterer again.
“Revelations is what I did with nothing. Imagine what I could do with a budget,” he says. “Pretty good for a bunch of
nobodies.”